Saturday, December 19, 2009

Sama'a Spiritual Crescendo

Staff report, *NCPA creates a 2 day Sufi Music Festival this December ... Presents Sama'a: The Mystic Ecstasy* - India PRwire - India

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Mumbai, Maharashtra: With an aim to offer its patrons a taste of the varied forms of music tradition, NCPA, India's premier art and culture institution, presents a two-day long, soul-stirring Sufi Music Festival called Sama'a: The Mystic Ecstasy.

Sama'a, which in Arabic means 'to listen', is a word used to describe the Sufi practice that helps attain spiritual ecstasy through song, music and dance. Supported by Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation in the service of the arts, the Festival of Sufi Music will be held at the NCPA-Tata Theatre on December 10th & 11th at 6.30pm.

The two-day festival of Sufi music will feature the eminent sitar player Shujaat Husain Khan on the 10th December. A group of Langas & Manganiyars from Rajasthan, followed by qawwals from Fatehpur Sikri: Salim Hasan Chisthti & his troupe will entrance audiences on the 11th December.

This is for the first time that the festival draws together performers from three prominent strands of music associated with Sufism in the Indian subcontinent. There is qawwali and folk music from Rajasthan. In addition Shujaat Khan, with his training in classical music, brings in an added flavor to the Sufi repertoire lined up.

Commenting on the Sufi Festival, Dr. Suvarnalata Rao, Head-Programming (Indian Music), NCPA said, "It is important to focus on not just the form but also the conception of music. Shujaat, for instance, is the son of Vilayat Khan and has had rigorous classical training. We want to see how he treats the ghazal as a form of Sufi expression."

She further added, "In selecting performers with a diverse repertoire, the NCPA is attempting to bring together people from Sufi and non-Sufi backgrounds. Qawwals, for instance, often train in dargahs, practically in the lap of renowned Sufi saints. This time, NCPA has invited the group that serves the dargah at Fatehpur Sikri."

The festival will also bring together an unusual array of instruments. Apart from the sitar, which already has strong Sufi roots of its own, there will also be musical instruments like kamaicha , morchang , sarangi, dholak, khadtal and algoza.

Mr. Khushroo Suntook, Chairman, NCPA says, "The NCPA wishes to reach out to all the great cultural jewels world-wide. Sufi Music is particularly appreciated and understood in India and we are proud to present leading exponents of this school of this very exquisite genre."

Soothe your senses with soulful melodies at the NCPA's Tata Theatre on 10th & 11th December'09 at 6.30pm.

Sama'a: The Mystic Ecstacy-Festival of Sufi Music-Schedule:

10th December
Shujaat Husain Khan

An eminent sitar player and heir to the rich legacy of Etawah-Imadadkhani gharana, Shujaat Khan will present ghazals and other Sufi compositions by mystic poets like Amir Khusrau Dehlavi, Kabir and others, in an unusual style that draws from his remarkable ability to express through voice as well as the vocalised idiom of the sitar.

11th December
Presentation by Langa and Manganiyar musicians
and
Qawwali by Salim Mohd. Chishti and group


Langa and Manganiyar are hereditary caste musicians of the western Rajasthan, who practice music as a profession besides being keepers of genealogy for the Hindu as well as Muslim patrons. A group of ten musicians will render popular poetic folktales like Laila-Manjnoo, Heer-Ranjho, Sohni-Meher, Jasma-Oden and others, as composed by several Punjabi and Sindhi Sufi saints. Accompanied by instruments such as the soulful algoza, kamaicha and sindhi sarangi, and the pulsating rhythms of dholak and khadtal, they build a magical atmosphere charged with intense emotional appeal.

The grand finale of this two-day festival is the musical ecstasy created by the qawwali performance. Salim Mohd. Chishti and group of musicians are attached to the Dargah Sharif at Fatehpur Sikri, a monument dedicated to the great Sufi saint Salim Chishti (1478-1572), who belonged to the Chishti order in India.

This order is specially known for the practice of Sama'a - the spiritual crescendo through music.

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Saturday, December 19, 2009

Sama'a Spiritual Crescendo
Staff report, *NCPA creates a 2 day Sufi Music Festival this December ... Presents Sama'a: The Mystic Ecstasy* - India PRwire - India

Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Mumbai, Maharashtra: With an aim to offer its patrons a taste of the varied forms of music tradition, NCPA, India's premier art and culture institution, presents a two-day long, soul-stirring Sufi Music Festival called Sama'a: The Mystic Ecstasy.

Sama'a, which in Arabic means 'to listen', is a word used to describe the Sufi practice that helps attain spiritual ecstasy through song, music and dance. Supported by Narotam Sekhsaria Foundation in the service of the arts, the Festival of Sufi Music will be held at the NCPA-Tata Theatre on December 10th & 11th at 6.30pm.

The two-day festival of Sufi music will feature the eminent sitar player Shujaat Husain Khan on the 10th December. A group of Langas & Manganiyars from Rajasthan, followed by qawwals from Fatehpur Sikri: Salim Hasan Chisthti & his troupe will entrance audiences on the 11th December.

This is for the first time that the festival draws together performers from three prominent strands of music associated with Sufism in the Indian subcontinent. There is qawwali and folk music from Rajasthan. In addition Shujaat Khan, with his training in classical music, brings in an added flavor to the Sufi repertoire lined up.

Commenting on the Sufi Festival, Dr. Suvarnalata Rao, Head-Programming (Indian Music), NCPA said, "It is important to focus on not just the form but also the conception of music. Shujaat, for instance, is the son of Vilayat Khan and has had rigorous classical training. We want to see how he treats the ghazal as a form of Sufi expression."

She further added, "In selecting performers with a diverse repertoire, the NCPA is attempting to bring together people from Sufi and non-Sufi backgrounds. Qawwals, for instance, often train in dargahs, practically in the lap of renowned Sufi saints. This time, NCPA has invited the group that serves the dargah at Fatehpur Sikri."

The festival will also bring together an unusual array of instruments. Apart from the sitar, which already has strong Sufi roots of its own, there will also be musical instruments like kamaicha , morchang , sarangi, dholak, khadtal and algoza.

Mr. Khushroo Suntook, Chairman, NCPA says, "The NCPA wishes to reach out to all the great cultural jewels world-wide. Sufi Music is particularly appreciated and understood in India and we are proud to present leading exponents of this school of this very exquisite genre."

Soothe your senses with soulful melodies at the NCPA's Tata Theatre on 10th & 11th December'09 at 6.30pm.

Sama'a: The Mystic Ecstacy-Festival of Sufi Music-Schedule:

10th December
Shujaat Husain Khan

An eminent sitar player and heir to the rich legacy of Etawah-Imadadkhani gharana, Shujaat Khan will present ghazals and other Sufi compositions by mystic poets like Amir Khusrau Dehlavi, Kabir and others, in an unusual style that draws from his remarkable ability to express through voice as well as the vocalised idiom of the sitar.

11th December
Presentation by Langa and Manganiyar musicians
and
Qawwali by Salim Mohd. Chishti and group


Langa and Manganiyar are hereditary caste musicians of the western Rajasthan, who practice music as a profession besides being keepers of genealogy for the Hindu as well as Muslim patrons. A group of ten musicians will render popular poetic folktales like Laila-Manjnoo, Heer-Ranjho, Sohni-Meher, Jasma-Oden and others, as composed by several Punjabi and Sindhi Sufi saints. Accompanied by instruments such as the soulful algoza, kamaicha and sindhi sarangi, and the pulsating rhythms of dholak and khadtal, they build a magical atmosphere charged with intense emotional appeal.

The grand finale of this two-day festival is the musical ecstasy created by the qawwali performance. Salim Mohd. Chishti and group of musicians are attached to the Dargah Sharif at Fatehpur Sikri, a monument dedicated to the great Sufi saint Salim Chishti (1478-1572), who belonged to the Chishti order in India.

This order is specially known for the practice of Sama'a - the spiritual crescendo through music.

No comments: